Overcoming Fear Through Team Building
by grey
Summary: As the result of a strange series of events Virginia and Jet end up spending the night in a haunted mansion. Kind of silly. [COMPLETED]
1. Part I

If things work out this will be my first multi-chapter fanfic ever. It will be silly (that, I know), romantic (that, I hope) and exciting (that, I seriously doubt).

Please enjoy.

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Overcoming fear through team building

Part I

"This place sure is spooky…" the deep voice of Gallows echoed through the empty halls of the withered old mansion. "I wouldn't be surprised if we ran across a few ghosts…" he trailed off, his menacing tone of voice suggesting he was trying to scare them.

The sheer volume of Jet's sneer that followed made him the center of everyone's attention. Gallows looked especially annoyed glaring at the white haired boy.

"What's that? You don't believe in ghosts, Jet?" he asked while his mind, always tuned onto mischief, already held the early makings of a plan.

"Let's see, how do I put this in a way you'd understand?" Jet scratched the back of his head thoughtfully, "…No"

"Here we go again…" Virginia muttered below her breath. Clive chuckled discretely.

The drifter quartet stood in the dark corridor, backs facing the main entrance: a thick wooden gate with an unknown family crest in the center. The air was stale and oddly cool considering the blazing heat outside.

Running a callused hand through an abandoned cobweb Gallows smiled a wicked smile. It was obvious to everyone in the room that he was plotting something.

"Not afraid of ghosts, eh?" he muttered absentmindedly while studying the fine web shrouding his fingers like a satin veil. A gray membrane of the akin covered the walls of the abandoned mansion blurring the patterned wallpaper. The place truly had a ghastly atmosphere.

"Nope. Ghosts are…" Jet paused, searching for the right word, "…stupid."

Gallows gave a short laugh at the statement at the same time discarding the cobweb.

"Ok. How about this?" he directed his calculating stare at the younger boy. "To prove your utter fearlessness, _and_ manliness, you'll spend a night in this 'ere haunted mansion!" He giggled wickedly as his plan was unveiled. Sure, it wasn't the most original of plans but nonetheless it would be fun to execute.

"Why the hell would I wanna do that?" Jet questioned and made sure to laugh some in a very contemptuous manner, "I don't need to prove myself to you... Jeez, why stay in this dusty hell hole when I can stay at a comfy INN somewhere?" he kicked some dust of the off the grimy floor to further emphasize his point.

"Ohh, scared are we?" Gallows persisted. Unfortunately for Jet he wasn't one to easily give up, "You'd better be careful or Virginia might dump you over someone braver…" he intentionally trailed off, wondering how the suggestion might affect the boy.

"Gallows!" Virginia looked flustered while Clive chuckled ever so discretely.

"Dump…me?" Jet sported a confused look. He wasn't quite certain what Gallows meant. Sure, he was familiar with the expression, but how could she dump him? They had no special relationship… Perhaps it meant she could kick him off the team? Then again, he'd been dying to leave ever since he first joined so it wouldn't really be that bad, would it?

Jet shook his head lightly, reminding himself not to take anything Gallows said too seriously.

"So what's it gonna be? Maybe you _are_ afraid after all?" the Baskar tribesman pursued. "What a disappointment…"

"Jet…" Virginia had turned to watch him, poorly disguised concern in her shining blue eyes, "You don't have to prove anything." she then blushed slightly for some reason unknown to him.

Then realization finally struck him, the meaning behind Gallows' earlier remark.

"No, Gallows is absolutely right! I must prove myself man enough for you!" Jet exclaimed, striking a heroic pose.

The room went dead silent and for a moment time itself seemed to have stopped. Clive chuckled no longer staring wide-eyed at him. Virginia was shocked speechless her jaw dropped wide open and Gallows… Gallows just stood there.

Jet himself was utterly dumbfounded.

"Uh, that was sarcasm. Couldn't you tell?" Had he truly sounded so very serious?

"Oh" Virginia quickly snapped out of her awe. However trying, she failed miserably in concealing the disappointment in her voice. She blushed as three pairs of eyes were directed toward her.

"Jeez! Is that really something you'd expect to hear from me?" Jet muttered in disgust. He would have to watch himself around these people. Who knew what horrible misunderstandings could arise would he not?

"…Sarcasm, eh?" Gallows repeated, momentarily tempted to change the topic from ghosts to something equally dead: Jet's sense of romance and relationships. Ultimately he decided against it. Opportunities like this one rarely came along, after all, whilst Jet would most certainly remain emotionally clueless for a long, long time. "Well? You didn't answer. Or perhaps you really were serious just now?" he endured.

"Congratulations Gallows!" Jet exclaimed annoyed to the point of breaking, "Just when I think you can't get more irritating, you surprise me." he was near overcome by a strong urge to make a ghost out of Gallows, a particularly gruesome one, "If I sleep here tonight will you shut the hell up?"

"Hehe, sure. If you dare sleep that is…" the larger man rubbed his hands together in a suspicious manner.

Virginia came walking up to Jet.

"Are you really sure about this?" She had a good idea of what Gallows had planned but that wasn't really what worried her.

"Virginia…don't tell me you believe in this ghost crap?"

"Well, we have seen a lot of weird stuff on our travels…" she muttered lowering her head, ashamed to admit her fears.

"I see… How 'bout you, Clive?" Jet turned to look at the supposedly wisest member of the group.

"I believe…" Clive pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose, "you should never completely dismiss a theory unless you have indisputable proof of its falsehood." his extreme straight-from-the-textbook answer went so far it nearly turned into a parody of itself.

Jet sighed running a hand trough his unruly white hair. He wasn't about to change his opinion that easily, but Clive did make a good point. Perhaps he truly was the smartest of the four?

_He _does_ wear glasses, after all…_

Gallows cleared his throat regaining the attention of his friends.

"Let's go find a place to sit down and I'll tell you the history of this place" he suggested, heading off into the dusty hallway. Before he got very far, however, Clive spoke up.

"That's funny. I was under the impression this place was new to you as well?" he inquired one eyebrow slightly quirked suggesting a mild skepticism.

"Well, uh, I just… remembered that I've actually heard of this place before." spoke Gallows with a sheepish smile, "It must've slipped my mind."

The first floor lounge had at first glance appeared inhabited by a family of oddly shaped and petrified ghosts that stood motionless scattered across the large room. At a closer look, however, these turned out to be nothing but old, sheet-clad furniture.

"This is how it all began…" Gallows spoke while relaxing in the comfortable armchair he had claimed before any of the others had had the chance. He appeared to prepare himself to tell a long story. "Oh and Virginia, it's kind of a scary story so you might wanna move closer to Jet"

Virginia responded by sticking out her tongue at him. She then glanced over at said boy who didn't seem to be paying much attention to anything being said in the room. Unexpectedly she then did exactly what Gallows had suggested; she got up from her spot on the floor and walked over to sit next to her young friend.

"If Jet's going to stay here then I'm staying with him" She declared seemingly out of the blue, grasping hold of his arm demonstrating her resolve.

"Huh?" Jet wondered with the feeling he'd missed some important piece of conversation.

"B-But you haven't even heard the story yet!" exclaimed Gallows, surprised by the girl's sudden statement. Her affections for the boy could very well ruin his plans for the night: the private haunted house experience he was about to create just for Jet, the annoying nonbeliever.

"Please Gallows," Virginia rolled with her eyes, "we all know you're just making stuff up to scare Jet. There's no horrible, bloody history to this place. The owners probably just got tired of living out in the middle of nowhere and moved into town."

Gallows donned a grumpy look but refrained from answering with a witty comeback for the simple reason he couldn't think of one.

"Party-pooper…" he muttered sullenly turning away to pout in another direction.

"If you're going to stay here" Virginia turned to watch Jet capturing his violet eyes with hers, "I'll keep you company." She squeezed his hand in an affectionate manner that he found disgustingly cute.

"Uh, you don't have to…"

"I want to."

"Really, I'll be fine by myself."

"Cut the macho crap, Jet. I said I want to."

"Why would you want to stay here?"

"Who cares why? You should just be grateful!"

"But…"

Listening to their conversation, Gallows was struck by a revelation. A revelation that helped him bounce right back up after the depressing rebound of his earlier scheme.

"You're… scared of Virginia, aren't you?" He could barely suppress the laughter bubbling inside his stomach. "You're not scared of ghost and vengeful spirits but of girls!"

"What!?" Virginia and Jet exclaimed simultaneously but for somewhat different reasons.

"Is that true, Jet?" Virginia then demanded watching him intently.

Jet began sweating profoundly sporting a pale complexion in par with his hair. Gallows would pay later for bringing this up. Yes he would pay dearly, but faced with Virginia's piercing blue gaze the thought did very little to comfort him.

"W-Why would I be scared…" he had to stop and swallow hard, "of Virginia? She's… uh, harmless."

Gallows could no longer contain himself and burst out into violent laughter. The panicky look on Jet's face was utterly priceless. These were the moments he lived for.

The mentioned girl continued to watch him intently. He was evidently nervous and it concerned her greatly. She didn't very much like the idea that he was frightened of her. After all, they were supposed to be friends and having personally taken upon herself the arduous task of turning him into a happy, positive sunshine kind of person, this could prove a great obstacle.

Clive was satisfied just quietly watching the amusing scene develop in front of him, adjusting his glasses from time to time. As the elder one he felt no need to interfere in the business of the younger team members.

"Ok, we have a change of plans." Virginia spoke as the thundering laughter of the Baskar slowly faded into quieter giggling, "Your new task is to stay here one night with me."

"Task? What the hell are you talking about!? When did this turn into a freaking game show?" Jet was more than happy to share his negative thoughts concerning the idea, "And why do we have to stay here, anyway?"

"It'll help conquer your fear of spending time alone with me" Virginia clarified matter-of-factly.

"I told you, I'm not afraid."

"Come on Jet. Think of it as a team building exercise!" the girl exclaimed happily, receiving approving nods from the other two team members.

"Uh… how is that any better? And what team? It's just going to be you and me!" Jet argued. For some odd reason his mind brought up a certain tidbit of information regarding quicksand: the more you struggle, the more it sucks you in.

"Exactly! How will we work as a team if you are afraid of spending time with me?" Virginia reasoned while Clive and Gallows continuously nodded in agreement, apparently seeing the wisdom in her words.

Jet took a deep breath of dusty air. She was very much like Teflon, he realized; nothing he said in protest ever stuck.

"For the last time: I'm not afraid!!"

-

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Whatever will happen next!?

Seriously. My guess is as good as yours.


	2. Part II

Yay! The first second chapter I've ever posted.

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Part II

In the old mansion the shadows gradually grew in numbers as night neared and the last of the sun's warm orange light shone through the grimy windows. The dark shapes swelled from each corner and angle of the withered house hungrily devouring the once sunlit space.

Jet was there, watching the shadows slowly advance, and so was Virginia. They were presently alone together, as they would be for the rest of the night. Alone and together. Two quite opposite words that, together in a sentence, made him feel the way most people with taste-buds feel about eating chocolate chip cookies with caviar: nauseated and mildly anxious.

A team building exercise, she had called it. Such ominous wording, Jet shuddered at the very thought. It probably meant they would actually have to talk. Him and Virginia talk about emotions and stuff. Just how had he gotten himself into this mess? Could it get worse? And why did he put up with such nonsense in the first place?

He was frightfully bad at conversations, to say the least. On the few occasions he would actually try he usually wound up uttering some hurtful remarks and thus prematurely ending the talk on a sour note.

Now _that_ he could accept. Perhaps it was simply his lot in life to gain enemies through verbal inadequacy. What annoyed him, however, was the amazing ability to inflict guilt on him that Virginia, and Virginia alone, seemed to possess. Mix that with his own incredible gift of effortlessly hurting people's feelings and you ended up with the recipe for suffering. His suffering. It was going to be a horrendously long night.

What was it that Clive had said right before he and Gallows left? The two of them were going to camp somewhere in the outskirts of the large yard so as not to ruin the exercise. He had said something about the experience being good for him and teaching him the values of companionship.

_Companionship? Just what the hell did he mean by that? _Jet couldn't seem to get over the specific choice of word. It lingered and grew stronger inside his mind like body odor on a hot day.

He had never needed or wanted friends. Whether or not it was true didn't really seem to matter. It was what he had believed and how he had lived his life up until recently. Recently being when he met Virginia, his annoying opposite in many ways, as well as Clive and Gallows. They were now all his friends whether he liked it or not it sometimes seemed, but even after all the time they had spent together he still found himself just barely used to the idea.

_Companionship… that means friendship, right?_ Jet was uncertain. Sure, as of late there had been lots of insinuations regarding him and Virginia circling around the campfire, but those were just jokes. Or so he always told himself. But if that was true then how come Virginia always blushed? And why would he feel so nervous around her? Could it be that the others had noticed something he hadn't? If she really liked him, how would he react? And if hereally liked her_, _how should he react?

"Jet?" the voice of the very girl on his mind reached him and shook him back into reality, away from the frustratingly many questions that remained unanswered. She had sounded heartbreakingly insecure. "…Do I really make you that uncomfortable?" She asked quietly, nearly whispering. Her anxiety was obvious even to him.

"…Yeah, kind of." Jet paused to take in her sorrowing look and realized that as in so many times before he was the direct cause of her distress, "…but that's hardly your fault." he added tentatively, struggling to overcome his insecurity with words. "I'm just sort of…uh, really bad at this kind of stuff… and it feels like I…I always end up hurting you some way or another…" his voice died out somewhat awkwardly.

The two young drifters sat next to each other leaning up against a wall in the lounge. Jet with his legs sprawled out before him gaze fixed on his hands that lay folded his lap. Virginia sat with her knees up underneath her chin, arms wrapped around her legs. Looking at her now she appeared visibly moved by his words. A sight that filled Jet with a rare sense of pride and accomplishment, he had by verbal means actually made things better. The age of miracles is not yet over.

Yet the success also made him a great deal uncomfortable. When it came down to it he was after all a pessimist and from here things could very well go steep downhill. For instance had he no idea of what to say or do next.

It was also very likely that he had now raised her expectations of him and thus paved the way toward future disappointment.

"So I guess…you could say you're really just being considerate?" Virginia dared a glance in his direction and their eyes met for a brief instant before Jet returned to stare at his hands.

"Who knows?" he muttered under his breath. "Let's not turn this into some kind of therapy session". It came out unintentionally harsh. Jet mentally scolded himself; he was already falling back into his normal pattern.

"I wasn't… I didn't-" Virginia stammered. As much as she wished to learn how Jet truly felt the last thing she wanted was to push him further away.

"I may care about you to some extent," he spoke quickly, as if he was in a hurry to get the words out, "but there's still lot's of stuff I don't give a shit about. So don't get me wrong...." he paused for a moment then smiled and added, "I'm still a pessimistic asshole."

Virginia laughed. His own smile widened some at the pleasant sound.

"And I'm still obnoxiously upbeat, right?"

"Right" Jet agreed with a grin.

_You know… they say opposites attract each other,_ Virginia couldn't will herself to voice the thought, but blushed fiercely nonetheless. Fortunately Jet didn't seem to notice.

"You know you really ought to smile more often. Makes you look cuter" she suggested tentatively, not quite sure how he would react.

Suddenly very self-conscious Jet ceased smiling and looked away.

"Whatever…" he muttered without quite getting that annoyed edge usually synonymous with the word, "Anyway, let's get the fireplace burning before it gets too dark." he rose from the floor then offered a hand to his female friend in a courteous manner very much unlike him. She gladly accepted the gesture.

Fortunately the previous house owners had left plenty of firewood behind and soon a warm fire sparkled in the great fireplace. Together with some from the heat slightly deformed candles they managed to light up the living room to their satisfaction.

Whilst absentmindedly tending to the fire Jet was suddenly overcome by an odd sensation. Something inside his mind calling for his attention but just barely staying out of reach. A strange feeling they had forgotten something... No matter how hard he struggled to figure it out his mind kept drawing a blank and he soon dismissed the peculiar sensation.

Virginia was the first to speak again, asking a question quite common among nightly visitors of haunted houses:

"Say, did you just hear something?"

Jet shook his head, "Can't say I did"

"I could've sworn I heard someone walking upstairs…" She looked up at the ceiling with growing apprehension. Jet followed suit, quietly waiting for some kind of noise. Nothing happened.

"I don't-"

_Thud_

He was cut off by the sound of a heavy boot hitting against wooden floor. A short silence ensued, then another thud, and another. The noise was somehow disturbing in its irregularity and devoid of any rhythm.

"…It's probably just Gallows." Jet shrugged in slightly forced indifference, "I mean that's what he had planned from the beginning, right? To scare me?"

"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure he gave that up…"

The sound of footsteps became slightly muffled as the person walked across a carpet. It also grew fainter as he or she moved further away from their location one floor down.

"Who knows? Who cares?" Jet asked no one in particular and returned to poke in the burning wood.

"Aren't you going to check it out?" Virginia asked, afraid she wouldn't be able to find rest unless the noise was fully investigated.

"Why should I? Let him have his fun. It doesn't really bother me"

"But-" She persisted.

"You're the one interested. Why don't you do go?"

"Hey, you're the guy! You're supposed to take care of stuff like this!" she exclaimed pointing an accusing finger at him.

"Since when is that an issue?" Jet wondered. To him Virginia had never really seemed very girlish. But then again he'd never really paid much attention to that kind of stuff anyway, "Are you really that scared?"

"Well, everyone's scared of something…"

"Perhaps, but it's just so illogical. I mean, we've fought monsters and demons five times our size, with claws and fangs dripping of foul poisons and other nameless fluids. You weren't scared back then, how can you be scared _now_?"

"You're the one to talk Mr. 'I'm too frightened to be around Virginia'!" she retorted with a victorious grin as she made an incredibly good point.

"Damnit, I keep telling you, I'M NOT AFRAID!"

Muttering words of grumpy disdain, Jet soon found himself walking the dark corridors, candle in hand, searching for the source of the footsteps. Virginia walked very close behind him one hand tightly clutching the fabric of his jacket.

With the house now quiet as ever, they could do very little else but walk around aimlessly waiting for the sound to reemerge.

_How? _Jet asked himself, _How did I end up here? How do I always end up doing what she wants?_

As he continued to search the hallways an annoying question presented itself inside his head: was there anything he wouldn't do for her?

Sure, there was a significant difference between agreeing to go on a ghost hunt and, for instance, to risk one's life to protect someone. But then again he'd probably sooner do the latter than, say, confess to his confusing feelings regarding her. In other words: his principles were kind of screwed up.

Anyway, if the answer were indeed 'no', what would it mean? Was it a sign of love, or one of friendship? He was far too inexperienced in the area to know the answer himself. The only way would be to ask Virginia. She might very well know but to actually come out and ask something like that would be very embarrassing. Besides it wasn't like him to start a conversation on his own accord like that.

Shaking his head Jet forced himself to stay focused on the current task. Life had been so much simpler before, back when he was flying solo. Now it was just one confusing question after another.

"Are you ok?" Virginia whispered from behind him, "You seem kind of spaced out"

"…I'm fine." Jet muttered as he moved the candle across another empty room, "Look, we're obviously not finding anything. Let's head back to the lounge."

"Yeah. I guess you're right" Virginia finally agreed much to his relief.

He should, however, have known better than to rejoice over the small victory, for before they had even taken a single step toward the warm lounge an all too familiar sound rang through the hallways.

_Thud………thud……_

He could feel Virginia tugging at his jacket. Turning to face her he caught her staring nervously in the direction of the noise. It was close, probably in the very same corridor as them. Before any of the two spoke a word a similar sound appeared from above them and then from the direction they came. While at the same time, somewhere below them, another person slowly limped forward toward an unknown goal. It would appear their ghost had multiplied.

Virginia stepped closer, grasping a hold of his arm. Jet made no effort to move away.

"Jeez, if that's Gallows he's _good_" Jet whistled in amazement, "To think he had any talents…"

"Jet!"

"Ok, so maybe it isn't Gallows. But that doesn't mean they're ghosts"

Just to prove him wrong the sound of chains rattling and a weary moan escaped the shadows behind them and found its way to their attentive ears. Jet swallowed hard, was this some sort of conspiracy against him?

Virginia stared at him expectantly. How would he explain this one, her look asked him.

"What? …Oh, come on! I mean, chains? Isn't that a bit clichéd?"

The cacophony of heavy feet wearily trudging around throughout the mansion seemed increase in volume now completely surrounding them. Virginia pressed closer hugging his arm tightly, successfully cutting off all blood flow.

"For crying out loud…" Jet moaned, "Don't look so damn scared. Whatever it is I'll…" he sighed, he hated the corny heroic stuff, "I'll make sure it doesn't get you, ok?"

Instead of looking relieved the way he'd hoped, Virginia eyed him quizzically.

"…How will you do that?" she asked.

Jet mumbled something incoherent.

"What? I didn't hear you."

"How am I supposed to know? I'm sure I'll think of something. Sometimes the best ideas are the ones you get, you know, in the spur of the moment"

"…I don't buy that. It's probably the same deal with really bad ideas."

"Whatever. I said I was going to protect you and I will! Just for once would you be grateful!?" Jet sighed, "Jeez, you can be so annoying… I swear, if I didn't think I was in love with you I'd have left a long time ago."

"W-What?" Virginia stammered not quite trusting her ears.

Jet froze. Had he spoken that part out loud? He opened his mouth to answer, to present a plausible denial, but his tongue lay paralyzed. She had to have heard him. How could he possibly explain this one? Was it even true? It had to have been, after all the confession had escaped him unconsciously. He began sweating, confused and nervous like never before.

"J-Jet?"

_This is not the time!!_ A voice inside his mind screamed, willing him to act. Several footsteps were enclosing now accompanied by a strange animal-like scuttling. A low guttural growl slowly increased in volume, from barely audible to very much so.

"Uh, it's not important right now." Jet finally managed to speak. Squinting into the darkness he tried to make out shapes of the would-be assailants or ghosts or whatever it was they were up against. Once more he experienced the strangest sensation that they had forgotten something. Something very important. "Hey Virginia… why did we come here in the first place? I mean, we sure as hell didn't come here just so you and me could spend some quality time together."

It was now Virginias turn to freeze, momentarily forgetting all about Jet's earlier slip of the tongue confession.

"Oh jeez, how could we forget?" she slapped herself on the forehead with the palm of her hand, "We were supposed to check this place out because of all the missing persons reported in the area."

"Oh, right… _now_ I remember" his voice remained completely dead pan, "Kind of a stupid thing to forget…"

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Ooh, the plot thickens… or not.

The next chapter will have fighting and action! Well, maybe (sadly I've never been very good at depicting that kind of stuff).


	3. Part III

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Part III

In the faint candlelight Virginia and Jet stood, back to back, facing the surrounding darkness with ARMs in hand. The dry, dusty air was full of sounds: the beating of boots against the wooden floor as well as a quick-paced scuttling noise ever approaching. A constant, low growl hummed in the background and an occasional painfully weary groan echoed through the hallways.

Her fear eased by the weapons in her hands Virginia's mind drifted, despite the situation, off to words earlier spoken.

__

He said he loves me! I'm sure of it! Her heart racing she glanced over her shoulder at the white haired boy, _…But that's like the last thing I'd ever expect to hear from him! Can it really be true?_ She wanted nothing more than to ask him but it was just so horribly wrong a time. Ghost or not they would pay dearly for ruining her chance to get a confession out of him.

There was always later, she assured herself, assuming they survived whatever the mansion had in store for them. Come to think it they weren't even sure it was hostile, that whatever it was enclosing on them under the cover of darkness. At that moment however, any other assumption would have to have been an incredible feat of positive thinking.

Well, she figured, releasing the safety on her two pistols, it's always better to be safe than sorry.

__

Thud… …thud…

It was so very close now.

Jet gasped as something stepped into his field of vision. Virginia had to fight the urge to whirl around to take a look herself. He was covering her back just as she was covering his. Suddenly she felt him move. Without the familiar presence of his back against hers she felt naked and vulnerable.

__

I trust him… She repeated in her mind.

A series of explosion rang through the confined space followed by the wet sound of blood and gore splattering across the hallway behind her. It had been the Airget-lamh; she recognized the sound.

"…Well, they aren't ghosts" Jet sounded calm and unemotional. Virginia was just about to turn around when a movement among the shadows caught her eyes. The shape of a human stumbled across the floor toward her, dragging one leg behind in a painful limp. In the split second that followed she had time to distinguish two hairy, claw-like hands hungrily reaching for her, a near toothless grin cracking up, splitting the face in two and the gaping black cavity where one eye should have been. Firing her ARM at near point blank range she exploded much of the head in a single shot. The person fell backward and struck the floor with a heavy crash.

"What the hell was that!?" Virginia exclaimed, her breath ragged from shock. No one answered. "J-Jet?" she held her breath.

"I'm here." Jet's voice sounded controlled, although somewhat strained, "Listen," he urged her, "…they're gone."

Indeed the house was again silent, the symphony of feet hushed. No more was the strange scuttling sound approaching and no pained groans rang throughout the house. All things considered it was too silent.

"There's no way these two caused all that racket by themselves." he continued and Virginia dared to turn her back on the dark corridor and face him, "The others must've heard the shots."

Jet stood next to a body slumped up against the wall. Clad in raggedy clothing it would easily have passed for a human, had it not been for the hands that best fit the description of 'beast-like'. Its face was missing, having met a similar fate as the one bleeding on the floor behind Virginia, thus making it hard to tell just what kind of creature it was.

"A-Are they really human?" Virginia slowly regained her composure. She hoped they weren't. Killing humans was never easily justifiable by her book, no matter the situation. Then again, was killing ever easily justifiable? She shook her head; this was not the time to ponder such things.

"I'm no doctor, but don't these look a bit too freaky to be human?" Jet pointed at the strangely aligned legs that seemed to bend in very impossible directions, then at the furry, claws-like hands Virginia had already noted.

"Then," she proposed, "could they be demons?"

"I seriously hope not. I've had enough of those." he sighed wearily and looked up from the gruesome body.

"I hear you" she concurred locking eyes with him and smiling weekly, "So… what do we do now?"

"Hell if I know." Jet replied, reloading his ARM, "You're the leader, you decide."

"Ok, how about…" she thought for a moment, "we head back to the lounge, barricade the place and wait for sunrise? Getting out should be easier when we can actually see where we're going."

"Sounds like a plan to me" he agreed.

Cautiously wandering back through the dark corridors, listening for any signs of life, Virginia wondered about the possibility that Clive and Gallows had heard the gunshots or perhaps remembered what they had all so idiotically forgotten regarding the mansion. Dared she hope they were already on their way to aid them? As much as she enjoyed being alone with Jet, it wouldn't do her much good if they both died.

__

Speaking of Jet…she looked at the young man holding her hand, leading her forth on their way toward the warm and hopefully secure lounge. His youthful yet ever scowling face, lit by the candle he held in his free hand, held a look of great determination. She wondered briefly if it wasn't dangerous for him to be holding her hand instead of his ARM incase they were attacked again. She decided not to bring it to his attention. What's life without a little risk, anyway?

Somewhere in the mansion a low growl sounded, reminding them of the present danger. Fortunately it had sounded from far away.

"Jet?" Virginia whispered, "They must be some kind of monsters, right?"

"I don't know." he replied eyes and ears remaining focused on the surroundings, "Does it matter? If they attack us, we defend ourselves."

"But isn't it an advantage to know what you're up against?"

"Well, we know that, don't we? After all, we just met two of them." his grip on her hand tightened slightly as the shadows played tricks on his mind, "However inhuman they may or may not be, we can kill 'em. That's really all that matters."

"H-How can you always be so cold?" Virginia stopped abruptly, forcing him to do the same. She stared hard at his back, waiting for his answer. The timing was very bad, she was well aware of that, but nonetheless she needed for him to explain himself.

"Look," Jet turned to face her, "the way things are now, we may very well have to fight more of these creatures or people or whatever they are. It's kill or be freaking killed here!" His eyes looked alive with rare emotion. She couldn't tell if it was anger or… something else. "If you hadn't shot that… _freak,_ do you think it would have shown you the same courtesy? Did it look as if it would have settled for a brief chat!?" He didn't leave her time to answer, "I don't believe they're human, or maybe that's just what I want to believe, but it really doesn't matter."

Virginia couldn't respond, even had she wanted to. Her blue eyes locked with his violet ones, drowning in the pools of raw emotion that had emerged from behind the usual emotionless facade.

"If I have to kill to stay alive, I will." he stated, staring at her intently. Then for a moment his voice softened ever so slightly, "And if I have to kill to keep you alive, I will"

Again he didn't wait for her to speak, simply turning away to carry on walking. Virginia quietly followed him, her hand still secure in his grip. He had made a good point, she acknowledged, even if she still felt quite torn. He was different from her. That was old news. He had always been cold, or acted so anyway, and it had been her personal quest to change him. Now she wasn't sure as how to feel about that anymore.

They were very different, perhaps too different. But he cared for her. He would kill to protect her.

Then again, she was no angel herself. In the harsh wasteland very few drifters were _allowed_ to be. But she felt the weight of remorse and she felt guilt. No matter how hard she tried she just couldn't remain detached and cold when she was faced with the act of killing.

"Maybe I'm really not fit to be a drifter?" she whispered meekly.

Jet sighed

"That realization came a bit late, don't you think?" his voice startled her as she had been unaware of voicing her thought, "We've already saved the freakin' planet for crying out loud…" he was still walking ahead of her and didn't bother to turn around as he spoke. "I'm sure everyone thinks you're great. I mean even _I_ do, uh, sometimes… So don't… don't change, ok?" he cringed slightly as he heard himself speak in such corny wording, "The world doesn't really need more people like me." a short silence ensued the statement. As Virginia found herself at a loss of words, Jet was the first to speak again: "We're here"

They stopped outside the door to the lounge area on the first floor. Jet finally let go of her hand replacing it with the Airget-lamh.

"Let's make sure there are no unwanted guests" He spoke quietly, looking over at her. She gave him a silent nod still somewhat hung up on his earlier words. Regretfully shaking her head to rid herself the distracting thoughts she readied her own ARMs.

Bursting through the doorway their trained eyes quickly surveyed the area. The fire they had left burning had been reduced to a smoldering heap of ash but other than that the place looked very much the same as before. The room was empty and thus their surprise attack was brought to an anticlimactic end. To make absolutely sure Jet quietly moved across the floor to check behind the sheet-covered furniture while Virginia closed the door behind them.

The room would work as their safehouse for the night. Jet came over and together they moved a large desk in front of the door that fortunately opened inward. After that he went on to reestablish the fire. Virginia lit a few more candles while trying not to think of the very romantic setting they had unconsciously created. A fireplace emitting a warm, cozy atmosphere, the many glowing candles…

Of course with those vicious god-know-what's prowling the corridors outside, the picture was far from perfect. Besides, Jet wasn't exactly the ideal romantic partner either, clueless and morose as he spent most his time. Still, she knew of no one she'd rather have by her side in a situation like this one. By that she meant both the romantic 'evening by the fireplace' setting and the life threatening reality outside the room.

"So, I guess there's nothing left to do but wait now…" she sighed, making her way to sit down next to him in front of the fire.

"Yup" Jet agreed. "You could catch some sleep if you want to, I'll stay guard." he offered in a somewhat unconscious act of courteousness.

"It's ok. Strangely enough I'm not that tired." Virginia smiled.

"Yeah, I get what you mean…"

The two drifted off into silence staring into the blaze of orange and red in front of them. Moving to sit closer to him, Virginia earned herself a questioning look from her friend.

"You should know by now." she stated plainly, taking his hand to hold and leaning against his shoulder ever so slightly. Much to her relief he didn't shrug her off, as she might have thought he would.

"Some team building exercise this turned out to be, huh?" she spoke again after a short period of silence.

"Yeah" he agreed with little amusement.

"I-I'm sorry… I guess it's my fault we're in this mess…" She looked down at their joined hands.

"Not really, we were supposed to do that investigation thing, anyway. Remember?" his eyes left the fire to rest on her.

"Yeah, but at least then Clive and Gallows would've been here too…" Virginia argued.

"I guess, but it doesn't really matter." he shrugged with his usual indifference, "I mean we're both still alive, right?"

"Yeah…"

"And, uh, I guess you could say that team building crap actually worked…" Jet paused and she shot him a very questioning look, "I, uh… I guess you could say I feel somewhat less… confused about certain things now…" he felt a slight numbness spread throughout his body following the realization of what he had said, and in which direction he had just deliberately led the conversation. He never seemed to stop amazing himself.

"Certain things?" Virginia repeated. To say she was incredibly curious would have been a grave understatement. "Jet?"

He opened his mouth to speak again but didn't really know what to say. Had he really thought he could go through with it? And was he truly less confused? Perhaps he was really more so but confused the feeling with lesser confusion? …But why would he do that? He suddenly felt very confused.

To be honest, his earlier confession had him just as baffled as it had her. He could admit it seemed fairly clear that he cared for her, or at least that there was something he felt that differentiated her from everyone else. It also seemed that her well being had somehow suddenly become a concern of his. But could he really love her? It felt as if he'd gone from nothing to everything on an emotional level all in one huge step. And now he was stumbling.

She was patiently waiting for him to speak but somehow it felt as if the more he delayed, the higher her expectations would soar. What kind of confession could a person of his verbal incompetence offer, anyway? Looking at the beautiful young girl beside him, her blue eyes watching him expectantly, he decided to at least give it his best shot. But what would one usually say in this situation? He took a deep breath.

"V-Virginia, you're really pretty and-" he was interrupted mid-sentence by the sound of gunfire.

"Clive and Gallows!" the two exclaimed simultaneously.

"Let's go." Jet rose from the floor and dashed for the door.

"But you never did finish…" Virginia tried to get his attention while promising herself retribution for the unfortunate interruption. Clive and Gallows would pay. "It's not fair…" she muttered sourly.

Jet didn't hear her protest, pushing the desk out of the way he opened the door. Suddenly pouncing from the darkness a shadowy figure crashed into him, a growl escaping its throat.

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Whoa. A real cliffhanger. Sorry about that but I'm trying to keep the chapters roughly the same length.

Oh, and I'm also evil.


	4. Part IV

****

Part IV

One of its claws slashed across his forearm, ripping through cloth and skin alike. He stumbled backward unable to stop the motion. The creature followed with its near lipless face grinning madly and bloodshot eyes widened in a terrible stare. Whatever doubts he'd suffered from were all gone now: the creature before him was not human. No matter how many the outside similarities were, it wasn't. Not remotely.

Jet reached for his Airget-lamh, but it was most likely too late. He tripped over the comfortable armchair Gallows had occupied earlier that day. The back of his head hit the floor with a loud thud and the ARM slid out of his loose grip across the floor and out of reach. In a haze he saw the freak creature lunge at him.

Throwing out a punch with his unharmed left arm he connected his fist with the creature's jaw just as it landed on top of him, knocking the air out of him. The creature showed no sign of pain or hesitation even as its jaw fractured in a painful crash and several teeth fell out. Raising its claw it went for the kill.

Several shots were fired in a rapid progression and hit the creature in the side, the impact sending it tumbling off the laying boy. Growling it rolled across the floor until it crashed into a cupboard. The sound died in its throat and the creature remained still on the floor, a red puddle slowly growing from underneath it.

"A-are you ok, Jet?" spoke a worried Virginia her two pistols still smoking. She took a few tentative steps toward him.

"Yeah" he replied before slowly getting up from the floor, eyes fixed on the seemingly dead creature. "I'm fine" he elaborated while casually walking over to retrieve the Airget-lamh.

"You're bleeding" she told him.

"I know" he went on to tear off a piece of sheet covering a nearby table, creating a makeshift bandage for his arm. "Um, Virginia…" he turned to look at her, she noticed the sheet was already turning a dark red, "…Thanks… I owe you one." he spoke with a rare smile tugging at his lips.

"It's ok. I can think of a few ways you could repay me." she returned the smile with a somewhat unsettling, wicked glint to her eyes.

"Uh, really?" Jet didn't quite know what to make of the look she gave him. He probably didn't want to know what she had in mind. Absentmindedly scratching the back of his head he winced as he discovered the result of his earlier meeting with the floor. At least he wasn't bleeding, he noted in relief as he checked the hand.

Again, the sound of gunfire ripped through the night, coming from somewhere inside the mansion. The sound worked as a reminder and shook them back to reality.

"We should get going" he glanced at Virginia before setting off toward the door, picking up a candle on the way over, "If it's really them we'd better help."

"Yeah" Virginia agreed, taking one last look at the creature on the floor before following him.

Again they had been interrupted just as he had come around to confessing his feelings for her. Virginia muttered a silent curse as she walked behind Jet in one of the many indistinguishable corridors. Just how many times could that happen in one night?

_He said I was pretty!_ She smiled happily in remembrance, _And he was just about to say something else…_Virginia looked over at Jet, her curiosity driving her close to the brink of madness. _Will he pick up where we left later? _she wondered briefly,_ Or will he take the opportunity to forget about it? …Argh! Why must I suffer such bad luck!_

Still, she reminded herself, it had been her wishing for the arrival of their two other friends not long ago. But then again, that didn't mean she couldn't curse their bad timing. Not at all. She went ahead and cursed some more.

The sound of gunfire had ceased a while ago and it bothered her not knowing if it was a good sign or a bad one. Whilst busy fighting off negative thoughts Virginia nearly fell as her unsuspecting feet came across the stairs leading down to the basement. Grasping a hold of the nearest solid object, which was a certain white haired gunman, she quickly steadied herself.

Jet gave her a cross look.

"Stay focused!" he chided her, "I think I heard something from down there…"

"…It's your fault for giving me so much to think about…" Virginia muttered sourly, glancing down at the uninviting darkness of the cellar. She didn't very much like the idea of going down there.

Jet winced at her words, an utterly foreign feeling of insecurity coming over him.

"…I'm sorry" he replied, his voice flat and emotionless. He had been honest in his apology, something he rarely was. After all, he didn't really know how she felt about him and yet he had been acting strangely this entire evening. He was well aware of that. Uncharacteristic in his openness and speaking more in a couple of hours than he had the whole week before. She was bound to know how he felt by now, or how he believed he felt anyway, lacking better judgement. Perhaps the knowledge burdened her? Jet swallowed hard, for the first time truly regretting having set foot in the mansion.

"No, i-it's not like that." Virginia stammered, taken aback by his apology, "I mean, I'm really happy…" she looked down at her shoes, blushing.

He breathed a silent sigh of relief while at the same time part of him was utterly disgusted with his soft-heartedness. He wasn't supposed to feel this way, nothing good would ever come out of it. His affections for this woman would be nothing but another weight on his shoulders and how could he possibly fly the wasteland with such heavy shoulders? Jet brought his hand to his face to massage the bridge of his nose as he desperately tried to silence the pessimistic voice inside him.

"Jet?" Virginia watched him anxiously, unable to read him.

He turned to face her, opening his mouth to speak. Instead his eyes widened, focusing on something behind her.

Two freaks limped toward them with surprising speed, mouths wide open in a silent scream, dried blood smeared across their faces.

"Get down!" shouted Jet, raising his ARM to fire at the two approaching foes. Fortunately for both of them, Virginia was quick to react, diving behind him while drawing her own ARMs. Before she had time to fire, however, Jet had already finished one creature off, spraying the walls with its brain, and severely injured the other, parting it from its legs. Moaning and snarling fiercely the creature continued crawling toward them completely ignorant of any loss of limbs before Jet put it out of its misery with a well placed shot to its head.

"…Good thing they're not very smart." he commented after a brief silence. "You ok?" he turned to look at Virginia. She nodded absentmindedly.

"It's almost like they're some sort of zombies…" she thought out aloud.

"Zombies, huh?" Jet repeated, testing the word, "Why not?" he shrugged before continuing down the long stairs. It was as good a description as anything else was. "Stay sharp" he advised her as they ventured into the thick darkness below, which was really the same darkness as above only further away.

The basement was huge mausoleum-like space very fitting of a haunted mansion. Stone carvings of people, frightful demons and mythical creatures peered down at them from the ceiling high above that six wide columns kept from collapsing under its own weight. Along the walls stood several large statues of men and women striking different poses.

The floor, on the other hand, was an uneven surface of different sized, crude stone slates. As unfinished and makeshift as it looked, it worked as a strange contrast to the otherwise extravagant room.

None of this, however, would have been visible had it not been for the smallish candle Jet carried and more importantly: for the light of unknown origin emitted from behind a corner on the far side of the space.

Virginia took a few hesitant steps forward, her footsteps doubled in loud echoes. She stopped a couple of feet in and turned around to face Jet, wordlessly she beckoned him to follow her. When he came to stand beside her, eyeing the light suspiciously, the sound of voices reached them.

"Hey, do ya think Jet and Virginia are getting it on yet?" A familiar voice spoke giggling in between words.

"How can you even begin to think of such things at a time like this?" Another equally familiar voice wondered in amazement.

Two shadows appeared, dividing the light. Any questions regarding their identities were redundant.

"How can you not? I mean, they're our friends. Wouldn't it be great if they got together?" Gallows asked, "Besides, Jet could seriously need some lovin', that depressed punk."

"Yes, I agree on that. But this is hardly the time or place to 'get it on', do you think?" spoke Clive, the voice of reason.

"Ah, what do you know?" the Baskar muttered.

"I do have a wife, remember?" replied the bespectacled sniper.

"Oh yeah. She's hot, by the way"

"Thank you"

Next to him Virginia began giggling uncontrollably, clamping one hand over her mouth to stifle the sound. Even Jet smiled faintly despite the fact he didn't quite approve of their choice of conversation.

Their two friends rounded the corner and stopped briefly, surprised at the sight of their teammates.

"Well if it isn't our two lovebirds right here!" Gallows exclaimed happily, walking over, "How've you been?"

"Just great." replied Jet, "If you'd arrived a moment earlier, you'd have caught us making out"

"Really?"

"Nope, unfortunately we were kinda busy fighting off these freaks who apparently live here." he unconsciously touched the bloodied bandage around his right arm.

"Ah yes, we've actually had the pleasure of meeting them ourselves." Clive spoke, "Persistent bastards, aren't they?" he finished with language very much unlike his own.

Gallows gave him a shocked look. "'Bastards', Clive? Do you kiss your wife with that mouth?"

"I apologize." he replied, a smile on his face.

Virginia and Gallows burst into laughter, the mood being generally pleasant now that the team was reunited. Jet went as far as to look mildly amused. The pleasant sound of Virginia's laughter mixed with the earsplitting rumbling of Gallows felt strangely nostalgic. Not at all as annoying as he would have thought.

"Man, I didn't know if I was gonna laugh or cry when Clive remembered about the mission." Gallows laughed some more, "I mean, of all the things we could've forgotten…"

"Yeah, but who would've guessed there'd be zombies?" Virginia asked. "They totally ruined our evening." she looked over at Jet, whose eyes practically begged her not to share more of their evening with the others.

"…Zombies, huh?" Clive repeated, just like Jet had a moment earlier, "I suppose that is a acceptable definition." he looked at his younger friends, turning serious.

"Do you know something?" it was Jet asking the question, more than happy to change the subject.

"Yes." confirmed Clive, "You see we had the luck of stumbling upon the library while looking for you." he pushed his glasses further up the bridge off his nose, his trademark move. "I found several interesting scientific texts there."

"Yeah, you should've seen him" Gallows interrupted, "I was like: 'Hey, we got to find Jet and Virginia' and he would just wave me off, nose deep in one of those thick, dusty books."

Clive gave him a bothered look, before continuing.

"Anyway, they were mostly books on human and animal anatomy."

"So?" Virginia urged him to elaborate.

"Well, that alone isn't so strange I suppose. But I also came across a handwritten journal belonging to the previous owner of this house; a doctor with a knack for vivisection." Clive made a dramatic pause that only Gallows could fully appreciate, having already been briefed to the meaning of the word 'vivisection'. "Basically, what we are fighting here are the creations of said doctor. Human/monster hybrids created through extensive blood transfusions and organ transplants."

"A doctor you say?" Jet spoke with contempt in his voice, "Sounds more like the work of a mad scientist to me…"

"Why would someone want to do such a thing?" Virginia sounded deeply disturbed, "And if they're really part human, how come they're so vicious?"

"Well, obviously something didn't go quite right." Clive turned his gaze toward their leader, "To make things easier I advise you do not think of them as human. They really aren't anymore." His eyes drifted as he continued, "The journal entries stopped about five months ago. My guess is that the doctor either escaped or was eaten by his own creations."

"Considering the covered-up furniture we saw earlier, we think he escaped or was just about to." informed Gallows, proud to be a part of 'we'.

"Since then the creatures have been feeding one each other and people unfortunate to wander across this desolate place." continued Clive, "Perhaps even other investigating drifters such as us."

"Great, just great…" muttered Jet, "So what we got here is a house full of starving freaks, and we're considered food?"

"Yup" Gallows confirmed even though it had really been meant as a rhetorical question.

"So… what now?" Virginia was the first to touch the inevitable issue.

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People who've read "The Island of Doctor Moreau" by H.G. Wells ought to recognize the whole vivisection idea… I kind of borrowed that.

Not that much fluff in this chapter, though, but fear not. Instead view it simply as a transport stretch between fluff and additional fluff. A chapter soon surrounded by, but alas in itself forever lacking just fluff.

I sincerely hope the flufflessness did not cause you grief.


	5. Part V

****

Part V

Clive removed his glasses to wipe them on his shirttail. For some reason all eyes were directed at him, could it be they were all waiting for him to speak? Taking his time, he slowly raised his glasses to check if they were adequately clean. Deciding so was indeed the case he placed them back where they belonged on the bridge of his nose and took a long look at each team member. "Well," he began slowly, "considering this place is a veritable deathtrap for unlucky people and that our mission was to investigate _and_ exterminate any threats…" he deliberately trailed off, still watching his teammates to see if they caught the drift.

"You're saying we should kill them?" Virginia asked, a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

"Yes." the sniper confirmed grimly, "Monster extermination is common work among drifters. As cold as it may sound, these creatures were never meant to wander Filgaia. Were they ever to leave this mansion they would stop at nothing, massacring entire villages for food."

"Ginny, they're not human anymore…" Gallows offered her a sympathetic look.

"Gallows is right." spoke Clive again. "However, you are the leader" his eyes fixed on her, "the decision is really up to you." he offered her an understanding smile.

Virginia normally wasn't one to hesitate. She was used to making decisions for her team members. After all, she was the appointed leader and she had been from the start. Her eyes traveled from the sniper to the Baskar, who gave her an encouraging nod, and then to over to Jet. The young man shrugged wordlessly, assuring her he didn't really care what she decided.

_How very supportive of him, _Virginia smiled feeling strangely nostalgic for some reason.

"I suppose we have to do something," she agreed, "but we don't even know how many of these creatures there are. Wouldn't it be kinda dangerous to take 'em head on?"

"Yes, you are correct." Clive nodded, "We should come up with a plan before we proceed." he suggested, feeling all warm inside as he spoke. It was common knowledge that he immensely enjoyed the process of plan making. That was where he, with his brains and oratory skill, shined like a star on one of those dark, cloudless nights in the wasteland.

"How about we split up and cover different areas?" suggested Gallows.

"That's just stupid." Jet made his grumpy contribution to the discussion.

"Hey!" the Baskar tribesman didn't look very pleased. "Watch it, punk!" he shook his fist at the younger man.

The accused punk sighed, "Can't we just blow the place up or burn it down or something." he turned away from his friends. "I'm sick of this house, anyway." he muttered sullenly kicking the stone floor in his usual way of displaying annoyance.

"I suppose that _would_ take care of our problems..." Clive agreed while scratching the back of his head, "In a very destructive way, but still."

"Yeah, think of the huge explosion!" Gallows exclaimed having gone from annoyed to inappropriately excited, nearly bouncing on the spot.

"Calm down guys." Virginia interrupted, "Do we even have explosives?"

Gallows wide smile turned upside down in disappointment as she pointed out the one big flaw he'd overlooked. For a moment Virginia feared he was about to break down and cry.

"That would be the problem, right there." Clive confirmed. Seemingly deep in thought he began tapping the side of his head with his index finger, "…A desolate house like this would usually have a power generator somewhere...." he went on muttering, thinking out aloud, "If we were to find it there may still be fuel left…"

"Yeah!" Gallows was quick to catch on, as happy as ever, "Let's turn this house into a freakin' barbecue!"

"Cool it, big boy." spoke Jet, earning himself a death glare from the Baskar.

"So we'll go look for this generator, then?" Virginia wondered.

"Yes, but in a house this size it may take us a while to locate." Clive reasoned.

"I still think we should split up" that was Gallows input, he glared at Jet while speaking daring the boy to interfere, "At least into groups of two. We could cover twice the area that way."

"Yes, that may be a good idea but how will we contact each other?" Gallows grinned as Clive acknowledged his idea.

"How about gunshots?" Virginia suggested. "We already know that works."

"Ok, it's decided." Clive spoke, "Fire two shots if you find the generator and, uh, a helluva lot if you get into trouble. The group that finds the generator will gather the fuel and then we meet up back here."

"Sounds great! I'll go with Jet!" exclaimed Virginia causing both Clive and Gallows to raise their eyebrows. Jet sighed. "What?" the girl demanded, "This _was_ supposed to be our time alone, remember!?" She stared at them, daring them to comment the arrangement of the groups. They dared not.

Instead the two men wordlessly directed their knowing and very insinuative smiles at Jet.

"Can we please just get this over with?" he groaned in annoyance.

"Why of course." Clive excused himself. Teasing Jet was entertaining but right now there were more important business to be dealt with, "Should we fail to find anything let's meet back here in say two hours?"

"Sounds fine by me" Virginia agreed.

"Take care and keep your clothes on!" Gallows called as he followed after Clive.

The two men soon disappeared around the corner and Virginia turned to face Jet. Their eyes met and she smiled sweetly. He suddenly felt very vulnerable without his two other teammates.

_Calm down Jet. No need to go all jittery now. Remember: you are NOT afraid of Virginia! _ Jet didn't quite know if he believed the mental pep talk. Nevertheless, it continued, determined to ease his anxiety: _Why, you've already spent a good couple of hours alone with her. You're doing just fine… _the soothing voice inside his head slowly faded as Virginia walked closer.

"Finally alone again, huh?" the brunette said in a playful tone of voice.

He tried to hide his blush by looking in another direction, "I don't know what you're talking about…" he claimed, when in fact he had thought very similar thoughts just a moment earlier.

"Heheh, did you know you act completely different when it's just the two of us?" the girl asked him. She leaned sideward trying to see his face.

Being fully aware of that Jet decided to do the only natural thing: change the subject and avoid the topic.

"Shouldn't we be looking for that generator?" his eyes were busy searching the room even though he perfectly knew there was no such thing there.

"Don't change the subject." Virginia latched on to his arm, laughing. Hugging it tightly in a manner he was quite used to by now, she continued, "You know, I'm really getting tired of all the interruptions…" she trailed off and suddenly there was something else in her eyes. Replacing the playful glint was a tentative look of longing. "I…" she hesitated, "I would really like to hear what you were about to say back there… in the lounge"

"Uh…" replied Jet, suddenly taking a huge interest in his shoes. He felt his throat constrict in a panicky manner and beads of nervous sweat form on his brow. What was he supposed to say, again? Did he really want to say it? Was this an appropriate time? And was that rust on his shoe buckle?

Ultimately the sheer amount of uncertainties overwhelmed him and he managed nothing but remain silent and stiff as a board. Granted, it was not the best way to answer but it was the old fashioned Jet way.

Virginia sighed, slightly discouraged by his response or rather lack of such. Then again, she reminded herself, it was Jet Enduro she was talking too. The fact that he hadn't shrugged her off yet was a small wonder in itself.

Still, she couldn't help but want more from him. His indecisive behavior this particular night hardly made things any better. One minute he was blurting out confessions she'd only dreamed of hearing before, making her heart gallop in excitement and anticipation, and the next he was back to his usual cold, introvert self.

"Fine" Virginia muttered in disappointment, letting go of his arm, "Let's go then." she started off walking toward the stairs.

…_Jeez, that went smooth, _Jet thought while watching her leave, _Well, at least it isn't the first time she angry with me…_ He sighed, just how did that make things any better? It was clear her expectations of him were set far too high. She should know him better by now. The blame couldn't be put solely on him, right? He was just being Jet.

The excuses failed miserably in offering the comfort he had wished for. After all, he reminded himself, he had been the one that accidentally confessed his feelings for her, not the other way around. And now it was his lacking emotional awareness and uncertainty that complicated everything.

He utterly despised uncertainty. It was nothing but a sign of weakness. If that was what emotions brought him, then screw emotions! He had been doing just fine back when he was traveling solo. If he could only go back to that again everything would be fine. There would be neither uncertainty nor insecurity. He could forget about Virginia. Everything would be fine.

Except of course that was all a big lie. Unlike before, he had memories now; lot's of them even. Most of which seemed to involve that certain drifter girl. There was no way he could simply forget. Besides, deep down he really didn't want to, even if it would mean the return of his past carefree and lonely life-style. Despite his past of badmouthing memories he realized he had come to treasure them himself. And she was, as much as he hated and feared to admit it, precious to him. He would just have to make up his mind.

Silently cursing himself he set off to catch up with her.

They had been walking around the first floor for quite a while before they came across the huge dining hall. Much to their surprise they hadn't encountered a single freak as of yet, except for the two half eaten bodies they had discovered earlier, rotting away in what had appeared to be the doctor's study.

Virginia gasped as she laid eyes on the huge room. It was the first sound any of them had made since leaving the basement. In the center of the space was one of those ridiculously long tables with a surface so polished you could see you own reflection in it. If you first removed the inch thick layer of dust, that was. Upon it stood several expensive looking silver candelabras shrouded in a thin layer of cobweb, and a bronze statue of a posing man.

Through the huge windows on both sides of the room, half of which faced the outer yard and the rest the inner one, moonlight shone its silver rays dimly illuminating the space.

The walls between the window were crowded with oversized paintings of various people, relatives of the doctor perhaps. The pictures were of the creepy kind that followed you with their eyes as you moved.

Virginia walked into the room gaze moving over the furniture and the walls. Jet watched from his spot in the doorway as she lifted a pushed over chair back to its original position by the table. Dust stirred around her like a pale aura as she moved through the moonlight. For a moment Jet was utterly spellbound by the sight, trapped in the beauty of the scene and the angelic girl in the middle of it all.

"Ginny…" for the first time in god knows how long, he was the one that broke the silence, his voice unusually soft. Virginia stopped in her track sending him a curious look as he used her nickname. Before he had always dismissed it, accusing it of being far too cute. "Um…" he looked down awkwardly, feeling as if he'd ruined the magic of the scene by opening his mouth, "…About earlier…I'm, uh, sorry about that." he silently scolded himself for being such a lousy speaker.

Virginia flashed him a sweet smile and took a few steps towards him. "It's alright. I'm not angry"

"No, it was silly of me. I mean, you probably know what I was about to say anyway…" he looked up at her to see how she reacted to the assumption.

"Maybe…" she smiled secretively, "but that's the kind of thing a girl has to hear..."

Jet tried to block out his quickening heartbeat ringing in his ears. How many times in one night could he find himself in the same situation? He would go through with it or hurt her feelings again.

"Virginia, I think I-"

A shot rang through the air silencing him mid-sentence. It was followed by another one.

"It's a curse!!" Virginia exclaimed.

"They found the generator" said Jet, not quite certain whether to be relieved or disappointed.

"I know that!" she snapped, "But couldn't they have waited for like a minutes or two?" she had tried not to sound desperate, but failed.

Jet felt his lips involuntarily curve upward. What was this odd sensation he experienced? Could it be… he was in control of the situation?

"What's the hurry?" he grinned, "I mean, this really isn't the time to chit-chat, anyway…"

Virginia looked horrified at first, her lips trembling and her big puppy dog eyes shining with distraught. Luckily this only lasted for a second or two before she guessed his game. Had it been any longer he was bound to have given in.

"Hmf!" she turned her back to him, "There's no hurry. I just thought maybe you needed to get it off your chest."

"Nah, I'm fine" Virginia should have known better than to challenge Jet, he was after all the king of indifference. "Let's go" he smiled again, realizing he was actually enjoying himself.

"S-Sure" she replied with forced nonchalance, but she was already faltering.

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As you might already have noticed the focus of this story is hardly the plot but rather Jet and Virginia figuring out their relationship… so uh, that would be my excuse if you don't like the plot.

Oh, and I'm trying to end this now so the next chapter will probably be the last.


	6. Part VI

And so, I present to you: the conclusion

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Part VI

After a short and uneventful walk back, during which the patience of Virginia had been thoroughly tested, they reentered the large basement only to find the room empty and silent. For the umpteenth time that night Virginia cursed misfortune and harm upon a certain sniper and his friend the Baskar tribesman. Everything was to be blamed on them. The way things were now she couldn't even ask Jet to repeat himself without coming off as desperate.

"They're not here" Virginia spoke the obvious. She walked across the stone floor and peeked behind one of the many pillars just to make absolutely sure. If she had caught them right then, when her anger and disappointment was still fresh in mind, they would have been in grave danger of bodily harm. Unfortunately they were no where to be seen.

Turning to her white haired companion, she caught him examining his wounded right arm. Gingerly removing the once white fabric he'd wrapped around it he winced as his fingers brushed over the cut stretching from his elbow down to his wrist. Fortunately it appeared to have stopped bleeding.

"You're going to need some stitches" once again Virginia stated the apparent.

Jet looked up from his arm.

"I know" he said, "At least it doesn't look infected or anything… yet." he had no replacement bandage and went on to wrap the bloodied rag back around his arm. At least it would keep the worst filth from entering the wound. "We ought to carry a damn first aid kit…" he mumbled irritably.

Virginia walked over to stand before him so that when he was done with his arm and looked up again she was close enough to lean in and give him a quick kiss on the cheek.

As she backed away again the first thing she saw was the startled look on Jet's face. Her initial thought was that he had spotted an enemy behind her. She looked over her shoulder and saw nothing there but shadows and stone.

"What was that for?" Jet asked her as she turned to face him again. He held his ungloved left hand over the spot where her lips had made contact with his cheek. The startled look was replaced with one of perplexity.

Virginia giggled. "You can be so cute sometimes"

"When I'm tending to a bloody wound on my arm?" Jet raised an eyebrow, not quite grasping how that could be considered cute in any way.

"No, not that, silly!" she rolled with her eyes and put her hands on her hips, "Your reaction." she explained.

"Then… why the kiss?" he wondered.

"I thought maybe it'd make you feel better…" Virginia blushed despite her previous boldness, "…Well?" she asked, as Jet made no effort to speak. "Did it? I would like to know…for future reference."

_Future…_ the word echoed through his mind. She was asking him to make a decision regarding the future and the way she had asked it, she had already taken for granted that it would be one shared between the two of them.

Nervous but also relieved for a reason he slowly getting accustomed to, Jet reflected on the past night. It hadn't really been about fighting zombies, had it? Hell, he had been so preoccupied with thoughts of his female companion the absurdity of their situation had hardly even dawned to him.

As he reached the conclusion, it was with the feeling that it had been there, just under the surface, all this time. He had only been too ignorant to notice. The future she spoke of, it wasn't such a bad future. Actually it was quite the contrary.

"I guess it did." he scratched the back of his head, "At least it got me distracted." a smile appeared on his face almost naturally.

"Good!" Virginia smiled back.

Now if only she could somehow have him repeat what he was about to say back in the dining hall and even earlier back in the lounge without hurting her pride…

She wouldn't resort to begging. Of course not. She would never sink that low. If Jet wanted to wait let him wait. Virginia bit her bottom lip to keep from immediately going against her resolve.

What was pride between friends, anyway? Perhaps in time she could forgive herself for resorting to pleading on this one occasion? It was after all a possible confession of love she was missing. Yes, this time she would gracefully step down and swallow her pride for the sake of love. It was a good cause, she reminded herself as she let her eyes drift over to Jet.

In the last moment, however, her pride was saved by the approaching, quick-paced clatter of feet against the stone floor. It appeared someone was in a hurry to reach them. The sound got them back on their toes, drawing their ARMs just to be on the safe side.

Soon enough Gallows and Clive burst into the room. They were running, short on breath and panicky expressions on their faces. It was not a good sign. Clive carried a tin can of something that could be heard splashing inside. Gallows looked as if he'd been doused with water or some other clear liquid. They stopped abruptly as they reached their friends.

"What the hell have you done now?" Jet sighed noisily.

"Uh, we don't really have time to talk…" Clive said, sending worried glances over his shoulder as he spoke.

"You see, there was this accident with some candles and gasoline…" Gallows explained momentarily staring down at his feet before he too turned to look back.

"Don't tell me…" Virginia guessed, "You set fire to the mansion?"

"That's what happened, yes." confirmed Clive.

"Weren't we supposed to get out first?" Jet wondered.

"Yes, according to plan." the sniper replied.

"It wasn't really our fault-" Gallows began explaining only to be interrupted when suddenly three burning creatures charged into the room from behind him. Snarling like mad dogs they hastily stumbled toward the quartet in a very disorderly fashion, shoving each other out of the way. One of them was still only burning by the legs while the other two were next to completely enclosed in shrouds of searing flame. "Ahh!! Don't let them near me! I'm freakin' covered in gasoline!" Gallows shrieked and dove behind Jet.

"Of all the stupid-" Jet didn't have time to finish the sentence as two of the creatures rushed toward him and Virginia. The third one seemed disoriented twirling around itself in the center of the room, slowly eaten away by the fire. Clive finished that one off with a well-placed shot from his Gungnir HAG35.

Next to him Virginia raised her pistols, coughing as the horrid smell of burning freak reached her. She quickly fired at the approaching enemies but missed as the two separated throwing themselves sideward.

Jet quickly leapt aside following the left freak. Exposed and highly flammable, Gallows cursed. Virginia was reloading her ARMs dashing after Jet, leaving the Baskar to fend for himself. Raising his own ARM, a modified Coyote M17F, he blinked as some gasoline mixed with sweat entered his eye. He relaxed as best as he could considering the situation, aimed and fired at the mass of flames approaching him at an alarming speed. Several bullets took in its chest and the creature stumbled one last step forward before falling to the ground with a heavy thud, only a few feet in front of him. Gallows was quick to put some distance between him and the burning body.

Cursing as one shot just barely missed the head of the animate torch that was his opponent, Jet nearly stumbled as his left foot found a large gap between the uneven stone plates. The creature threw itself at him but faltered slightly as it took a bullet signed Clive in the shoulder. It brushed past him close enough for the flames to burn his cheek and char his white hair. Unfazed Jet followed in the motion, turning 180 degrees bringing his aim over the creature.

"Die, you stinking piece of burning flesh!" he roared as he pulled the trigger, exploding the side of its head as it twirled around to have another go at him.

Virginia reached his side as the freak creature fell to the ground. Her face had that excited look that came from a sudden rush of adrenaline.

"Are you ok?" her eyes wandered from his burned cheek to his hair darkened by soot.

"Yeah" he replied, "I feel like a million Gella." he coughed as he accidentally caught a whiff of the foul smoke.

"We really should get out of here" advised Clive from across the room, busy reloading his ARM. "Otherwise we may soon find ourselves trapped down here."

Gallows appeared from behind a pillar, "I'm not going anywhere near fire!" he told them.

"Why?" Jet wondered, "Why are you covered in gasoline?"

"It's a long story" the larger man explained, "Well, actually it isn't. These guys…" he pointed a finger at the three burning bodies, "surprised us earlier and I spilled some gasoline I was carrying. Then Clive kinda dropped this candle onto the floor…"

The green haired sniper looked embarrassed at them mention of his name.

"I see, " said Jet, "I suppose that could have happened to anyone…" he wondered if he was being clear enough in his sarcasm.

"Again, I would like to stress the importance of quickly getting out of here" Clive spoke, making sure they listened to him this time.

Virginia momentarily slid her hand into Jet's as the group, as per Clive's suggestion, hurried toward the stairway leading back to the first floor. Despite their very uncertain situation she experienced a brief instant of happiness as the man responded by squeezing her smaller hand affectionately. The moment passed as they were soon forced to let go in order to resume their guard.

Back up in the corridors of the mansion it was hard not to notice the thick, dark smoke gathering in the ceiling. Luckily the fire had not yet spread across to their position. For once things were looking up; the exit was not all that far from here.

In a moment of mental clarity Jet made a quick estimate of how many freaks they had encountered and taken care of so far. The number reached around 11-13 as he wasn't quite certain how many his two other teammates had come across before their reunion in the basement.

How many more could there be? And just what had this crazy doctor fellow been doing, anyway? Raising a private army? And some army it was.

Virginia motioned them to follow as she took the lead. She walked the path that would lead them first past the cozy lounge and then finally to that dusty corridor they had first laid their eyes upon as they had, unbeknownst of what awaited them inside, entered the large and very desolate house in the desert.

With the threatening fire approaching behind them the group donned a quick stride, Virginia in the front followed by Jet and then Gallows who had promptly refused to form the back party due to his high flammability. That position had instead been given to Clive.

With their current speed it didn't take them long to pass the familiar lounge area, a place that now held both fond and bad memories for Virginia, and from there on it was basically just the last stretch of corridor before they were out in the free again.

Gallows, being the tallest of the quartet, was now forced to keep his head low to avoid choking on the thick smoke that flowed above them. Other than that things were still looking up for band of drifters. They were almost out now and so far none of the signs or sounds that indicated the presence of their enemy were accounted for.

The plan was to set fire to the front entrance as soon as they were safe and sound outside and make certain no creature could escape the mansion alive.

"This is the one, right?" Virginia questioned as they entered yet another corridor, very much like the last one. "This is where we entered?"

"Yeah, I think so" Jet replied as he tried to make out the outline of the corridor before them. He could hardly see past Virginia in the windowless space but according to his mental map this was indeed the point of entry.

"Definitely the place" Gallows assured them. He coughed hard as he drew a breath of smoke. "Could we hurry it up? I'm not feeling so great." his eyes were starting to tear up.

Suddenly, as if they had been forming a last line of defense, two freaks leaped from the darkness before them. A chain rattled around the ankle of one of them.

The front one crashed into Virginia, sending the two tumbling onto the floor. His reflexes unrivalled by anyone Jet had drawn his ARM, fired at the second, still standing creature before she had even hit the ground. The hail of bullets nearly severed its left arm by the shoulder. Leaving that one in the care of his other teammates he dashed with equally unrivalled speed toward Virginia and the creature with the chain towering over her.

Before the brunette even had the chance to react to the threat it was removed in a blur of movement. Performing an impressive body slam considering his small build, Jet had forced the creature down onto the floor. It snarled at him, opening its jaws displaying a set of irregular teeth. While some of them were capped, like a beasts, some still appeared human.

The creature was strong and managed to get both its arms free. Acting before he was skewered by its claws Jet shoved the barrel of his ARM into the creatures gaping mouth and pulled the trigger. The head and its contents splattered onto the floorboards.

_That's going to leave a stain,_ his mind told him. It was a thought so random and out of place he nearly burst into laughter despite of the gruesome sight he was facing. He was feeling strangely lightheaded.

"They must have been waiting. We would've heard them" he registered the voice of Gallows somewhere behind him. The Baskar finished off the one armed opponent with a hail of bullets to its chest.

Jet felt Virginia tug at his jacket. It was growing harder to see, if that was even possible, and harder to breathe. They had to get out before they all suffocated.

Stumbling through the smoke and darkness, his hand clutching Virginia's, Jet suddenly saw a rectangle of light open up before them. Nearly falling over the threshold he stumbled out through the door into cool night outside.

Clive, the last man out, hurriedly splashed the insides of the corridor and the thick wooden door with the gasoline he was carrying. The rest of the group moved to a safe distance, breathing deep breaths of fresh air making sure to regain their calm.

"You wanna do the honors?" Jet handed a pack of matches over to Gallows.

"Need I remind you I'm still covered in gasoline?" the Baskar quickly returned the matchbook. He wanted nothing to do with such things before he had had chance to shower.

"No. I had that in consideration" the younger man grinned evilly. "Oh well, you'd probably just screw up, anyway…" he took a few steps closer to the soon-to-be giant bonfire, lit a match and threw the burning stick onto the gasoline soaked timber.

In an instant flames erupted and swallowed the door in a haze of red and orange. After that it was only a matter of seconds before the entire building was burning, the initial and accidental fire catching up from the inside.

Smoke filled the early dawn sky, blocking out the last stars as the four drifters stood in the desert sand, watching their handiwork.

"Kind of a shame to burn down such a nice house" Virginia commented after a brief silence.

"Indeed it is" Clive agreed.

"…We'll still get paid for this, right?" Jet asked, just struck by the thought.

Virginia studied the lone figure of the young man sitting back up against a large rock as she approached him. His shoulders slumped and his head hung forward he looked anything but upbeat. Watching him she felt a strong urge to run up and hug the living daylights out of him and kiss him until they both passed out of oxygen loss. She smiled despite his apparent depression.

"You missed a great sunrise" she commented upon reaching him.

"I don't care" Jet muttered, not bothering to look up.

"Come on, Jet" she sat down next to him. "Don't be like that. So we torched all the evidence. At least the threat is gone and we're all still alive…" he didn't appear consoled by the fact, not even the least, "They may still pay us, you know." Virginia tried.

"Fat chance of that ever happening." he finally looked up from his lap, leaning his head back against the rock behind them and staring at the bright morning sky. "All that work for nothing…" he sighed.

Virginia bit her lip.

"…It doesn't have to be for nothing" she nearly whispered looking down at her hands.

"What's that?"

"Maybe…" she paused, contemplating her choice words. She could be blunt, right? It wasn't like her to beat around the bush, "If you told me what you were about to say back there, it wouldn't be for nothing" she quickly pronounced the sentence. Closing her blue eyes she prayed for a positive response.

Jet remained silent for a moment, keeping her in suspense.

"I suppose refusing at this point would be kind of silly…" he acknowledged.

"Exactly" Virginia agreed happily. Struck by a thought she then quickly surveyed the area around them and was pleased to find neither Clive nor Gallows were anywhere in the vicinity. However hard they might try, they couldn't keep up their habit of interrupting forever, right? God help them if they did. She still had some pent-up anger left from the previous times…

Jet delayed his answer, fidgeting with the bandage around his arm. Virginia made a mental note to make sure he saw a doctor as soon as possible and didn't pull some macho crap like stitching up the wound himself to save money.

"Um…" he finally said, frightening himself as he still didn't feel quite ready for the task of confessing. He drew a deep breath, "I_ think _there is a _possibility_ that I _might_ be… in love with you." Jet paused, "or something in the lines of that."

Virginia stared at him. Was that even a confession?

"You sound uncertain…" she commented after a moment while at the same time a voice in her head kept screaming: _This is as good as it gets!!_ _Take it and run!!_

"What did you expect?" Jet sighed, a pained look in his eyes, "I don't know the first thing about this kind of stuff." he drew a hand through his tousled hair. "I mean I…I know I want…" he closed his eyes and realized he hadn't slept for the entire night, "…I want to continue being with you…" he exhaled in frustration, "I really pisses me off I can't be less vague"

"It's ok." Virginia reached over and grabbed his hand. She could handle a little uncertainty. "I love you too." she smiled as his eyes momentarily widened making her wonder briefly what kind of reply he had been expecting.

Leaning closer she planted a kiss on his cheek.

"What was that for?" Jet just barely kept from smiling.

"I thought you might need some distraction. You know, to help you forget all the money we missed out on." she leaned against his shoulder, watching the burning debris that had become of the mansion. Would people ever believe them if they told anyone? "Well? Did it help?" she went on inquiring.

"Yeah, I guess it did." Jet sighed, "Until you we're so kind as to remind me again."

The End

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Well, there you go. My first ever posted attempt at a story with multiple chapters. Never thought I'd finish it even though I had only planned to write 3 chapters to begin with.


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